Stanford alumna, former contributor to The Daily and freelance journalist Emily Wilder ’20 was detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the Global Sumud Flotilla on Oct. 7. She was released from custody and deported to the U.S. on Oct. 10.

Wilder was aboard the Conscience, a vessel part of the Global Sumud Flotilla organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), at the time of her detainment. The FFC is a network of pro-Palestinian activists that organizes maritime missions aiming to break Israel’s 16-year blockade around Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

FFC wrote in a statement that the IDF has no jurisdiction in international waters and the flotilla was not a threat. In the statement, they called the detention of flotilla participants a “kidnapping” and a violation of international maritime and humanitarian law.

Democracy Now published an interview with Wilder on Oct. 2, six days before her arrest, as she sailed toward Gaza on board the Conscience.

“I am here to witness this historic moment, to document this historic movement and, hopefully, to report from on the ground in Gaza,” she told Democracy Now. “But I am under no illusions that there is a deficit of evidence of … Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, and of the ever-worsening conditions there.”

The vessel held mostly medical and media workers, according to Wilder. Wilder, a reporter for Jewish Currents, was interviewed on Yom Kippur – which she said made her work all the more important.

“[It] makes it ever more urgent and clear that Israel does not represent my voice and does not — is not acting to protect Jewish people across the world, and that this is — you know, it’s an important — it’s an important mobilization for I and other Jewish journalists to partake in, to make that clear,” Wilder told Democracy Now. 

Wilder was fired from AP News in 2021 over her pro-Palestinian posts on social media. 

In response to Wilder’s arrest, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Wilder’s Congressional representative, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Oct. 8, urging immediate action by the Trump administration and the State Department to protect and free those detained from the Global Sumud Flotilla. 

“It is my responsibility to remind you of your solemn legal and moral duty to advocate and protect the rights of detained Americans, and secure their speedy release from detention, consistent with how the State Department responds to detentions worldwide,” Gomez wrote.

He urged the State Department to use its full diplomatic resources to ensure Wilder and the American citizens and residents detained are treated in accordance with U.S. and international law. 

“Failure to take immediate and comprehensive action to secure the release of Ms. Wilder and other detainees would implicate your department and the Trump administration in an unconscionable abandonment of basic American principles and a dangerous undermining of our diplomatic standing internationally,” he wrote.

Stanford Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and @stanfordalumnisolidarity made a post on Instagram in response to Wilder’s arrest urging people to contact Wilder’s congressmembers. 

“Emily Wilder’s critical work as a journalist reminds us that there’s another way to be — and that we have a responsibility to use our education in alignment with our values,” the post read. 

Jewish Currents published an article by Wilder on Oct. 14, detailing her 48 hours held in captivity by the IDF. 

“We were divided into filthy cells and handed two pieces of bread, our first meal after more than 24 hours, which the five of us in my cell left aside, to be quickly overtaken by ants,” Wilder wrote. “We were also each given a pair of underwear, soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. There was a toilet and a sink in a small closet; when we first turned on the faucet, the water flowed from the tap brown.”

Wilder was one of 94 detainees released on Oct. 10. Now, with the first phase of the ceasefire agreement underway, all flotilla members have been freed. Over 9,000 Palestinians are still imprisoned, according to her article. 

Esther Tsvayg ’20, who described Wilder as one of her closest friends, was very nervous when Wilder told her about the plan a couple days before she was scheduled to begin her journey. 

“I was really scared … just seeing the bloodshed over the last several years, especially when it comes to journalists,” Tsvayg said.

Tsvayg has talked to Wilder briefly since her release, but tried not to overwhelm her. From her conversation, she gathered she is “as alright as she can be” but also a “fair bit traumatized.” She admired the article published in Jewish Currents. 

“I thought it was a really beautiful piece of writing … It was difficult to read, but I was really proud of her,” Tsvayg said.

Tsvayg said she admires how Wilder lives by her ethics and stands for what she believes in. She described Wilder as kind, thoughtful, sweet, resolute in her values, admirable and bubbly.

Aidan Delgass ’26, a member of JVP and mentee of Wilder, who helped them re-start the Stanford JVP chapter in 2023, talked to Wilder a few weeks before she boarded the flotilla. 

“I’m immensely proud of her for standing for what is right and it took a huge sacrifice,” Delgass said. 

JVP discussed Wilder’s situation and called their representatives, according to Delgass.

They said Wilder’s release is “bittersweet,” as she is safe, but people in Gaza are still suffering. Delgass condemned the fact that the IDF does not respect freedom of the press. 

“In a lot of ways it’s a target on your back rather than a vest that protects you,” they said.

Delgass said the University should have commented on Wilder’s arrest and has a duty to engage with and defend alumni. Students, they said, should be aware of the University’s ties to Israel. 

“I don’t want students at Stanford to get drunk on their own comfort,” they said. “I want them to continue to see what our prosperity might be costing people at this exact moment.”

Amanda Campos ’26, a student organizer for SJP, also condemned the University for not commenting. 

“It’s very telling that there isn’t vocal support for Emily Wilder, always silence from the University,” she said.

Per the University’s policy on institutional statements, the University does not take a position on “political and social controversies unless these matters directly affect the university’s mission or legal obligations,” university spokesperson Angie Davis wrote to The Daily.

Tsvayg said she does not think the University had an obligation to comment on Wilder’s detention, as she is no longer a student. Furthermore, a statement would not be more than a symbolic gesture, she said, which would not be very powerful. 

She said that today, it is important to support young, marginalized and subjective journalists. She urged journalists to keep fighting and pursuing their work. 

“I think now, more than ever, it’s really important to support marginalized journalists who are doing boots-on-the-ground reporting and are keeping news media alive and well,” she said.
“That’s really where the pulse of it is, it’s the writers.”